Judge Approves Dismissal of Contempt Charges

The special judge hearing a contempt of court case against Hawkins County Clerk of Courts Sarah Davis has dismissed the charge, The Rogersville Review reports. Senior Judge Ben H. Cantrell of Nashville also ordered that "facts recited in the prosecutor's notice of dismissal" be stricken from the record. Cantrell said he decided to strike the prosecutor’s language after determining it was “simply his version of what he thinks he could prove.” Cantrell went on to say that the court “does not presume that the facts are true. They are strenuously disputed by the defendant and should be stricken from the record since the defendant has not had her day in court to refute them." The judge’s ruling ends a long running saga stemming from an encounter between Davis and Judge J. Todd Ross regarding staffing of the courtroom.